Lot of ground to cover.

So, I didn't realize how long it has been since I have updated you guys on what is going on here in Huntsville. I guess I have a lot of ground to cover here!!

I will start with my favorite book I have read over the past couple of weeks. Have any of you guys ever read the story Karla Faye Tucker: Set Free? If you haven't (which I am going to assume that I am the only one) you should definitely read it. If you wanna read a story of redemption, this is a great one. I read it all in one day, one sitting. It is about a woman who committed murder, and found Jesus in prison. She lives her life in prison sold out for the Lord, insanely powerful. She is later executed for the crimes that she committed earlier in her life.  If you want to read it, let me know-- I will gladly send you my copy to borrow.

 

The past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to meet some of the most interesting people from all over the world. I have been so blessed by these people. One family drove here from Amarillo for and exhibit at the Prison Museum on men and women that have been executed. The family of 6 which included parents, 3 sisters, and a brother came because their brother and son was executed back in 1992. The family was so sweet and sincere. They obviously were having a hard time being here at the house because the last time that they were here their son and brother were executed. I was given the opportunity to sit with the mother and talk with her a while. I could see the pain all over her face. Every time she would start to talk about her son and what happened, she would break down into tears. Which broke my heart. I don't know what really happened with that boy, nor do I really want too. All I know is that family is holding on to a lot of anger and pain. Pray for this family. Pray that they start to give God their pain and anger so that they can continue to move on with their lives; while still continuing to remember the family member they lost. Pray Matthew 11:28 over their lives.

I have had a lot of really awesome moments here, and a couple of not so awesome moments... but that's ministry, right? I like when churches or groups come and do volunteer work. It is fun to have lots of people in the house. I love when the house is full on the weekends. I absolutely LOVE it when kids come. I don't like so much execution days. They are really.. strange for me. I have gone through about 6 since I have been here. I am pretty sure that I have said this before, but just for clarification I do not witness the execution. I feel like that is the most frequently asked question, and no I never meet the man. The only part of it that we have here at the house is we house the family members of the inmate here the day of his execution. So all I see is the families and friends of the man. The whole day is just strange to me, I can almost say they make me a little uncomfortable. The whole execution thing is something that I did not know I would have to handle, but it is really teaching me the power of prayer. When things start to get really emotional here in the house, I usually leave the room for several reason. 1. I hurt for people a little to much, and I almost cry every time. 2. I leave to pray. I ask the Holy Spirit to come and put peace in the hearts of the people. You know that every time I have done that, God has proved faithful. God is soo good, and He is so faithful. 

Thank you to my wonderful friends who drove here and had lunch with me! Emily and Case I really do appreciate you coming and I LOVED here about how both of your summers are going. I am praying for you both faithfully.  Sorry, I don't have a picture of you Case :(

I spent Father's Day here in Huntsville, and I was kinda sad. I wish I could have been there because I am sure you had Big Red ice cream without me. :( I miss you both very much! I will see you both soon enough!

Favorite picture of all time.

Continue to pray for the house. I cannot tell you how many of our guest walk in and tell us this is their home away from home. They say that they sleep better here than they do at their own houses. Why do you think that is? I think it is because the Spirit of the Lord is present in this place, and working in the lives of the people who stay here. Pray for days of execution. Pray that the families cling to the Lord when the pain feels unbearable. Pray for opportunities to share the Gospel. 

July 4th is my GramGram's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I know I am not there, but I would like to be included on the homemade ice cream vote. I vote Orange Crush. :)

Texas Prison Museum.

Today we went to the Texas Prison Museum here in Huntsville. It was really interesting. It was amazing to see how things have changed over the years. I read a whole lot about the prison systems, and the things that have happened over the years. They had a section of infamous inmates, and a section where they explained (with pictures and newspaper clippings) the whole story of Bonnie and Clyde. They even had the guns they used, and creepily they had pictures of them after they had been killed. Needless to say they had lots of cool things inside there. So, here are some pictures I took.

 

This is a food processor an inmate made.

This is a tattoo gun. You can't see it, but the one on the right is made from a Marriott pen.

Homemade 'Prisonopoly' game.

 

Pieces to the 'Prisonopoly' game

Homemade chess game. On the right side, the pieces are officers. The pieces on the left are inmates.

This was made out of toilet paper.

THE Ol' Sparky.

Actual size of a cell. Remember, 2 people live in here.

I just thought some of you would like to see what I did today. :)

Woody Allen?

The last couple of days have been interesting. Between executions and feeding hungry volunteer inmates at the house (who knew that bacon would be such a hit?! PS, our flower beds look awesome!), I have strangely had such a peace the last several days. I wanted to first thank you guys for praying for me, I want you to know it is working. He is working, and He is giving me peace and strength I never knew I had. Thank you for praying for me, but continue to pray for the the families of the men incarcerated and also the men incarcerated.

Side note about my day, I found myself sitting at the front desk this afternoon anxiously waiting to answer the phone and say "Hospitality House, this is Nina, how may I help you?" and it NEVER rang. So I had some time to kill. I found myself doing some stuff for school in the fall, and doing more research on DBU's grad school programs. I starting looking up places I wanted to go, plans I want to make. I started looking into how much it would cost to fly to NYC (I want to go back real bad!).Strangely, I am reading this book by Susan Hill called Closer Than Your Skin. I am not very far into it, but it is talking about our relationship with Christ, and how He is closer than we think and give Him credit for. Something I like about his book, is that at the beginning of every chapter is a quote that will pertain to the chapter. I was reading this afternoon after I was off for the night, and strangely Woody Allen got me thinking. He said

"How to make God laugh: Tell Him your future plans." 

I kind of chuckled out loud to be honest. That is what I spent several hours of my day doing today, making future plans. I was just wasting time. I had such a ministry opportunity in front of me, and I didn't really take hold of it. I had men in the front of the house that need encouragement. That need Jesus. How often do we do this? How often do we waste time making future plans, and miss out on opportunities He has given us right then? I am definitely convicted. Thank you Lord for showing me this.